Cause of this case blowing?

[thehouseproduct]

Is this a sign of something out of the ordinary or do some cases just give up the ghost like this? this is a medium load with a 125gr RNFP Lee in 38 Special. It was shot in a 357 revolver.
http://thehousebmx.com/arfcom/blownbrass.JPG

[JohnFM]

Just plumb wore out. :mrgreen:
I get a body split like that once in a while.
If you save your NG brass to sell at the metal yard, just toss it in the bucket with the rest.

[paul h]

Not out of the ordinary, and in my experience nickle plated brass is the only type of brass I've seen this failure with. I've found unplated brass will eventually crack at the case mouth with repeated belling and crimping, but nickle plated cases will split nearly from top to bottom.

[sparky45]

I bought a bunch(300) 38 special nickle plated cases that were sold as once fired and over 30 of the cases looked just like the picture above after just one time(s) use. I got rid of all of them in my "recycle" bin.

[44man]

Clean the chamber and move on, nothing to be concerned with. ;)

[Hickory]

I once bought a box of factory ammo for my 32 mag.
on the 2nd loading more than half split just like that picture.

I also have brass that I have had and use from the 70's
that I load light and anneal every now and again.

[Roosters]

As others have said not a big deal in a revolver. I have them occasionally in 44 mag from trying to stretch case life to far.

[daniel lawecki]

My nickel brass usely cracks after about 25-30 reloads. Most are mild loads just the way nickel brass is

[ilcop22]

I've had surplus 7.62x54r ammo do this. Just worn out.

[Walter Laich]

nickle does this way more than straight brass ones but they will do it too. Have some .45 Colt brass that has been reloaded off and on for over ten years. Getting so I have about 1 or 2 do this out of a string of 20 (CAS shooting).

Like the others said, put it in your recycle containter. We have found a shop that will trade brass for WW pretty much even.

[high standard 40]

Probably just worn out, but this is not always the reason. The problem is the case has gotten brittle. Annealing may have saved them before they reached this point.

I currently have a batch of brand new, never fired Winchester 44 Mag brass (not nickle plated). At least half of this brass splits just like your example on the first load. I have stopped using this brass. I also have some new, virgin .223 brass from Winchester that splits in the shoulder, not the neck or body, on the first loading. I have seen Winchester shotshells, factory loaded that had split brass heads before it was ever fired. I have always held the belief, based at least on my experience, that Winchester brass is more brittle than most other makes. The three examples I mention of Winchester brass that splits involves new brass that has spent several years on the shelf before being used.

[mainiac]

I once bought a box of factory ammo for my 32 mag.
on the 2nd loading more than half split just like that picture.

I also have brass that I have had and use from the 70's
that I load light and anneal every now and again.

The only time ive ever had this happen to me,is with the 32 magnum. Does it all the time,and i dont push the pressure that far,either. Federel factory cases,as well as starline,they all do it,in this caliber.Might be my cylinder(ruger single-action),but i doubt it.Happens so much,that i dont even get bothered by it.

[TCFAN]

I bought a box of Remington 44mag unprimed brass years ago and almost every one split on the first firing.Sent them back to remington and they replaced them with 2 boxes and a nice letter saying that they had some kind of a burr in one of their forming dies that caused the splits....Terry

[1Shirt]

An old and tired case, not really uncommon.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[plainsman456]

Looks like old age to me.I have had some do that but they were shot a lot of times.

[JohnFM]

For whatever reasons, nickled cases don't seem to have the life of plain brass,
I finally built up a big enough supply of brass I was able to put away all the nickle stuff. Just as soon not mess with it if I don't have to.

[swheeler]

Is this a sign of something out of the ordinary or do some cases just give up the ghost like this? this is a medium load with a 125gr RNFP Lee in 38 Special. It was shot in a 357 revolver.
http://thehousebmx.com/arfcom/blownbrass.JPG

The brass has work hardened from repeated loading, it happens. I bought a 250 lot of Starline 7.62x38R, somewhere around the 20th loading 25% or more split just like that. Starline discontinued this brass years ago, so I thought I would try annealing what was left, I annealed in my usual roll it back and forth between forefinger and thumb while heating in flame of butane torch, when too hot to hold I dropped in sink of tap water. Now I have read on this forum it will not work because the case is too short and you will have to drop it before it gets hot enough to anneal, or so the keyboard xspurts here say. I will tell you I have loaded several times since and have NOT LOST A SINGLE CASE, so you tell me if it worked or not. 7.62 Nagant is the only revolver cartridge I've tried though, but more may be in my future.

[9.3X62AL]

Not a common occurrence for me, but it does happen once in a while with my 38 Specials that have been refilled a lot. Normal wear, I suppose.

I've heard many comments about the Federal 32 Magnum brass being prone to this sort of defect. Mine has been in service since 1985, and I've been very lucky with this brass--I've lost some while hunting, but have yet to see one split lengthwise. I haven't and don't load them very hot, but I sure cannot complain about their service life. I know some of them must have 30 refills, or more. Their Starline counterparts get largely the same treatment, though one lot of 100 has been set aside for creative endeavors with Lyman #313631.

[williamwaco]

I rarely see it with new brass.
New = less than ten years old.

I have a large batch that I acquired around 1970 that I load as a batch.
They have been loaded around 40 - 50 times.
Each time I reload them now about two or three per hundred split like that.

It does no damage to anything. In my experience, it doesn't even affect the point of impact.


Check this:

http://www.reloadingtips.com/pages/case_failures.htm


.

[btroj]

I see those often enou from my Marlin in 45 Colt. Over sizing and a big chamber.
Just an old, tired case.

I have had enough over the years that I can tell when I eject the case. Has a totally different ring to it. Toss a pile of cases in a bag and I can hear of one is split like that.

[MT Gianni]

Probably just worn out, but this is not always the reason. The problem is the case has gotten brittle. Annealing may have saved them before they reached this point.

I would not anneal to the point that this one is split at. That is far to deep, IMO. I vote for tired and worn.

[Willee]

I have picked up brass at the range that looks just like that.
9mm, 45, 40, as well as 38's.
I would not be too worried about it ... just dont try to reload it.

Willee

[Longwood]

I was shooting with a friend one day and he was getting a split brass every cylinder full.
He had cracked one hole in a cylinder some time in the past and it was causing brass to split. The crack was almost imposable to see.
Smith and Wesson sent him a new one for free.

[Old Caster]

Likely it didn't blow and was split before even being fired. Often times the reduced effort to size a case will make you catch it while loading. -- Bill --

[geargnasher]

I would not anneal to the point that this one is split at. That is far to deep, IMO. I vote for tired and worn.

Absolutely correct, I was going to say the same thing in response to that post but ya beat me to it!

Gear

[felix]

Brass is no different than powder. They are both batch/lot dependent. Bad annealing during manufacture is the cause of before-its-time splits. ... felix

[facetious]

When I first started reloading it was for a .357. I was using Forester dies and got a lot of split cases that looked just like yours. Years later when I got Dillon press I got some Dillon dies to go with it. After a wile I found that I was not splitting cases as much. When going through some stuff I found a box that had been loaded with the Forester dies and you could see how much more they sized the cases then the Dillon dies, they almost had an hour glass look to them, you could see it down by the head and on the boolit you could see the base and all the lube grooves you could almost tell if they had lube in them! If you are splitting a lot of cases it mite pay to check how much your dies are sizing the cases. In my case the first set were sizing them way to much.

[high standard 40]

I would not anneal to the point that this one is split at. That is far to deep, IMO. I vote for tired and worn.

I wouldn't anneal that far down either. The most common cause for the OP's example of case failure is old, well used, work hardened cases. My main point was that sometimes new cases do it also on the first loading and can be blamed on the manufacturer not annealing the cases correctly to begin with.

[mstarling]

I have noticed that dirt on cases or in the 38/357 dies will leave scratches on the loaded nickel cases. These will induce early failure.

But in the long run, both 38/357 and 45 ACP eventually fail with cracks coaxial with the centerline of the brass.

[Hip's Ax]

I've had surplus 7.62x54r ammo do this. Just worn out.

Ditto

[williamwaco]

Likely it didn't blow and was split before even being fired. Often times the reduced effort to size a case will make you catch it while loading. -- Bill --


This split CAN occur during the sizing operation.
I see that occasionally with old cases, and yes you can feel the different in the effort required to size the case.

.